I was pretty excited to find this new brownie mix at my local store. I have previously enjoyed PB2 peanut butter powder and was intrigued by their brownie mix. On the packaging it explains that its made with peanut powder. I figured it would have almost a chocolate peanut butter vibe in the brownies and that had me excited, who doesn’t love chocolate and peanut butter?
When I opened it up it definitely smelled like the peanut butter powder product I have previously tried mixed with the smell of cocoa. Upon looking at the cooking directions, one thing I found very unusual for a store-bought brownie mix is that it provides the recipe for only using half the powdered mix. The container is resealable which is a huge plus. Easy and convenient brownies twice! As a household of two, it takes a while for a dozen of anything to be eaten so I hoped this meant it would make less brownies which would be great for me.
Mixing up the batter was simple and easy. I put it all into a mixer and whisked it all together. The batter was glossy but otherwise the same texture as any other brownie mix. Of course I had to lick the bowl to report back to you all that the batter was very tasty. They recommend putting it into a 8×8 pan so I did just that. It didn’t seem like a lot of batter but it covered the bottom of the pan easily. It cooked at 350 for roughly 22 minutes, the packaging did suggest 20-24 minutes so this was right in the middle.
I pulled the brownies out of the oven and immediately my heart sank. The brownie batter had grown and appeared very spongey and cake-like. I held out hope and let them cool a bit before cutting into them. The packaging advised it would be 8 servings but I felt that cutting it into 16 pieces was neater even if they were smaller.
I gave them a try and much to my sadness, they were very spongey. It seemed I had taken a bit out of a chocolate sponge cake. The flavor is a solid brownie flavor. Not terrible but not fantastic. The peanut flavor is very mild and not quite like the peanut butter chocolate flavor I had expected. The chocolate chips in the batter made a nice touch. If this is the brownie you seek, you will be very happy with this mix. A nice addition to this mix would be a tub of store bought chocolate frosting or a quick ganache. The ganache I have in mind is 1 cup chocolate chips and 1 cup heavy cream, heat the cream, pour it into the chocolate and let it sit for a few minutes before stirring to combine. If you let it sit for awhile it will solidify more into a frosting consistency and go on these brownies nicely. I think with a ganache or chocolate frosting on top these brownies could hit the spot for someone else but unfortunately for me, the hunt for the perfect fudgey brownie continues.
The mix as prepared was 1700 calories with 46 grams of protein. If you cut the pan into 16 brownies as I did, then each serving is 106 calories with 3 grams of protein. If you cut it into 8 brownies then each serving is 212 calories with 6 grams of protein.
Have you tried these? What were your thoughts?
Here are the links to products used today:
Rubber Spatulas – https://amzn.to/3JWDtAA
Oven Mitts – https://amzn.to/3JYq5Mg
8×8 baking pan – https://amzn.to/4dyO2Yb
*These are affiliate links meaning if you click on the link and buy the product, I will earn a small commission, but you will not be charged a penny more.
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